I’m not a fanatical cyclist. I'm not a professional writer or photographer either. I’m just a guy who works in Washington, D.C., and uses my lunch break each day to go for a bike ride and discover some of the eclectic sites and events in and around the city. I take a few snapshots along the way with my cellphone, and then use this blog to post the photos and write about what I see, what I learn, and what I think about while I explore our nation's capital one ride at a time.

The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations’ Millennium General Assembly

In this country we do not have a king or royalty. Instead, we have an elected president. And unlike a king, our president does not have a throne. But if our president did have a throne, today I saw the one upon which our current president would probably sit. The throne looks like something that might have come directly out of President Trump’s private home or office. However, it is instead located in the Smithsonian American Art Museum, which is located at 8th and F Streets (MAP), in the Penn Quarter neighborhood of northwest D.C.

The throne is named “The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations’ Millennium General Assembly”, and it is a piece of folk art created by an African-American janitor and outsider or naïve artist named James Hampton.

Hampton was born in Elloree, South Carolina, in 1909. In 1928, he moved to D.C. and shared an apartment with his older brother, Lee. Hampton subsequently worked as a short order cook, served in the Air Force where he worked as a carpenter, and eventually became a night janitor with the General Services Administration.

Hampton never worked as an artist, or even had any formal training in art techniques, art history, or art theory. But shortly after his brother’s death he began spending his time during his off-hours in a rented garage secretly creating a large assemblage of religious art, including the throne, as a monument to God. However, he was a man of extremely modest means. So he created his art, and built the throne, out of various old and recycled materials like aluminum and gold foil, old furniture, pieces of cardboard, old light bulbs, shards of mirror, jelly jars, coffee cans, and old desk blotters, which he bound together using tacks, pins, tape and glue.

It is unknown if Hampton, who also referred to himself as Saint James, Director of Special Projects for the State of Eternity, ever thought of himself as an artist. He created the Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations’ Millennium General Assembly in complete obscurity. In fact, it was only upon his death in 1964, when the owner of the garage which he rented sought to rent the space out again, that Hampton’s work was discovered. As best can be determined by art historians, Saint James dedicated his off-work hours from about 1950 until his death fourteen years later to assembling The Throne.

The Throne eventually landed in the possession of the Smithsonian and, thankfully, became part of our national folk art heritage instead of our modern political tradition and culture.

[Click on the photos to view the full-size versions]

Note: These photographs do not begin do The Throne justice. In person it is absolutely massive sitting in it’s dark purple alcove. And the play of light off the foil and mirrors not only makes it shine, but it seems to actually glow. I highly recommend seeing it in person to experience its full effect.